📚 A Bookish Chat with 'Kiss My Boots' Jennifer Learmont | Author Interview | #AuthorInterview #BlogTour #Interview
Jennifer Learmont was born in a little town called Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, Australia, but grew up in Sydney, Australia. She attended a variety of schools since her family moved here and there while she was growing up. Jennifer credits her mother, who was an opera singer, a concert pianist and very educated woman for her education. “She was my teacher,” remarks the author. Jennifer Learmont maintains her home in Australia today.
Author Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/p/CYiaX-GJ8lG/
Welcome to The Writer's Life! Now that your book has been published, we’d love to find out more about the process. When did you come up with the idea to write your book?
My ex-husband contacted me after 20 years from America and told me that he was writing a memoir. Of course, I was to be in it, so I began helping him with research for a few years, going back and forth to America. After reading his chapters about me, I knew that I needed to tell my story myself. Perhaps I could leave a legacy for my family, as well, telling them what I was actually doing over in the States for 20 years and how it all came to be. My side of this story, so to speak. So, I started out writing a journal. As I read snippets to friends and family they said, “oh this is really good! You should write a book.” And that's what inspired me. It was a very cathartic experience and my stories just poured out.
Who is your publisher and how did you find them or did you self-publish?
I sorted through a number of publishers and narrowed it down to two; one in New York and one in Melbourne. I ultimately decided on Shawline Publishing in Melbourne since they’re in Australia, like I am.
Do you believe a book cover plays an important role in the selling process?
Yes, of course, just like clothing and make-up does for a woman. A woman knows that without asking.
How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?
This was not easy to write as I was totally honest and I did not hold back at all. It's what happened to a fearless, brave, beautiful young girl with a few stars in her eyes. It’s a decidedly unvarnished and, in some respects, pretty damning account of my life in the dark side of Tinseltown. It's not a success story; it's a survival story. A funny, scary, sexy, crazy, maddening, loving survival story.
What other books are you working on and when will they be published?
I'm working on a follow up book which starts in Hollywood and goes more in depth into the extremely colourful characters along the way, and maybe more of the Dominatrix world as well, I'm really excited about this project.
What’s one fact about your book that would surprise people?
It’s a bundle of ups and down and sudden turns like a roller-coaster ride. It’s funny and sad, comic and tragic, crazy and mellow, sinful and saintly, insane and enlightening, reckless and endearing. It’s sexy and silly. It’s smart and stupid. It’s chances lost and opportunities found. It’s friends made and loves lost. It’s chances taken and chances missed. It’s a car-chase in a ghetto and horse- ride in a field. It’s drugs and yoga. It’s rock & roll and gospel. And it’s always loving, like a guardian angel.
Finally, what message are you trying to get across with your book?
That life’s a ride, if you get on it. You will still have to work it, though. And you will have to love life to make it love you back.
Thank you again for this interview! Do you have any final words?
Hello, Hollywood? It’s me, again! Let’s talk!
My commitment to eating healthy was only equaled by my desire for cocaine…
Setting out on an adventure to the USA with my best friend, we had no plans, no rules and no limits. It started in the wild 80’s in Hollywood, LA and the spread across the ’90’s, fueled by drugs, sex, rock n roll. We met the people who later became famous actors, musicians, singers. I took some risks, made mistakes and lived through them; I was one of the lucky ones.
For 14 years I worked as a Dominatrix in Hollywood.
I was a natural and loved the work. My clients included a US General, Top Surgeons, Politicians, High Court Judges and VIPs. There is a grey side to my work, and no one really knows what goes on behind the dungeon doors.
I married a charming, captivating Italian/American criminal and lived a dangerous life, involved in crime, drugs and crazy choices where I almost lost my life. My turning point came the day I walked into the Sanctuary of an Interdenominational Church. I loved it so much I joined the gospel choir and took up yoga.
Now I was a dominatrix, yoga student singing in a gospel choir.
Eventually, and exhausted, I returned to Australia permanently to set up my own yoga studio and started to build a new life away from a blurred past. I was a wild and fearless child with a kind compassionate heart and a determination to live my life to the full, regardless of any cost.
“A spectacular life journey of a woman filled by verve and passion for life and who found her place far from where she thought it was going to be…sensitively written and thoughtful reflection of an explorative youth…wonderful…” Tara, Indiebooks reviewer
Publisher: Shawline Publishing, March 15, 2022
Formats: Paperback, 170 pages, $7.42; E-Book/Kindle, 240 pages, $5.99; ISBN-978-1922594709 and ISBN-13-978-1922594709. Available for purchase at: https://www.amazon.com/Kiss-My-Boots-Jennifer-Learmont-ebook/dp/B09S9Y7JX7 as well as Walmart, barnesandnoble.com, abebooks.com, Alibris, booktopia.com.au, thriftbooks.com and bookshop.org
Publisher web link: https://www.shawlinepublishing.com.au/search/?query=kiss+my+boots
The Writer’s Life
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